California

Yvonne grew up in Pico Rivera, California where she attended El Rancho High School. A Pitzer alumna from the Class of 1997, Yvonne received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Sociology. In 2005, she earned her Master’s in Higher Education with an emphasis in Quantitative Analysis. Yvonne has over 19 years of experience in higher education and college counseling. Prior to returning to Pitzer, she was the Vice President of Scholarships and Academic Support for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund where she managed HSF’s strategic outreach to students, parents and educational constituents, which included developing content that promoted college attainment and academic success. She was co-architect of a $417 million grant to establish The Gates Scholarship, a next generation scholarship that would recruit, retain and support the best and brightest underrepresented students through their bachelor’s degree. In her spare time, Yvonne enjoys staying active through dance and hikes with her dogs.

Recruitment and application reading territories: Hawaii and International (Asia – all but China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam)

Santiago was raised in California’s central coast. After graduating from Watsonville High School he attended Pomona College, earned a degree in psychology and found himself drawn to college admissions. While in college he interned for the Minority Student Action Program and worked as a Senior Interviewer. He was also involved in the 5-College ballroom dance team and volunteered at a local elementary school. He enjoys road trips to national parks, camping, biking and spending time with his dogs. Since joining Pitzer’s internationally-minded community in 2010, Santiago has been inspired to visit a greater variety of international locales.

Owen grew up in Claremont, California. After graduating from Claremont High School, Owen attended Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, where he majored in English and minored in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. After serving as an admissions counselor at Pitzer for one year, Owen spent six years at the California Institute of Technology, where he worked as an event planner, athletics liaison and marketing coordinator for the Undergraduate Admissions Office. A huge film buff, Owen has a particular fondness for documentaries. A minor league baseball and hockey fan, Owen enjoys racquetball, hiking on the Claremont Wilderness Trail, hanging out in Los Angeles and going to the movies with his wife.

Mattie grew up in Maui, Hawaii and attended King Kekaulike High School. She is a Pitzer alumna of the Class of 2012 and earned her degree in English and World Literature with an emphasis on creative writing, and minored in Spanish. While studying at Pitzer, she worked as a student tour guide and was a Resident Assistant for three years. She also studied abroad in León, Spain where she taught English to children. One of her most memorable accomplishments at Pitzer was educating low-income preschoolers as a Jumpstart Corps Member. In her spare time, Mattie enjoys watching Korean dramas, discussing “The Walking Dead,” cuddling cats, and eating sushi. She is currently pursuing her MA in Higher Education at Claremont Graduate University.

Hayley is lucky to have spent her entire life in sunny Southern California. That is, aside from the five years she spent freezing in Philadelphia, PA at Bryn Mawr College. After graduating in 2015 as a sociology major, she stayed on to pursue her Master of Social Work degree from Bryn Mawr’s Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research. During college, Hayley had the opportunity to leave the country for the first time. Bitten by the travel bug, the list of destinations she’s visited now include: Singapore, Cambodia, Copenhagen and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba! While at Bryn Mawr, Hayley was surrounded by extraordinary women who pushed her to become a strong advocate against social inequity and injustice. Working towards this goal, she co-founded a reading and writing group for local incarcerated women. She also helped launch a new group for first-generation students, faculty and staff on campus called First-Goers. Now that she’s out of college, Hayley has discovered this new “free time” thing, which she likes to spend doing Pilates, completing her goal of seeing every National Park, and baking cookies for her side gig, Baking Bad!

Alex grew up in San Diego, California, where he remained until making the decision to apply to Pitzer College his senior year of high school. Alex joined the Pitzer community in the fall of 2011, and, over the course of the next four years, tried his best to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by the school. Alex majored in sociology, taking more than a dozen classes in the subject since his first year, but in reality probably spent the majority of his time on campus working. Whether as a Resident Assistant, a sound technician, an Office of Admission visit coordinator and interviewer, a member of the student senate, or as a KSPC volunteer, Alex was heavily invested in campus life. It was only natural to him that he join up with Pitzer professionally immediately after graduating in 2015! Back when he was a student, Alex spent his free time either performing on stage as a member of the Pomona College Band, theatre department, and Sea Chanty and Maritime Music Ensemble, or helping to run Pitzer’s BoXcar club with his closest friends. He loves being outdoors, and considers any distance within a ten mile radius a “walkable” one. Alex is really excited to keep helping current and prospective Pitzer students out in the future, whether it’s in the application process, or beyond!

Erin was born and raised in Carpinteria, California where she attended Cate School. Wanting to explore and challenge herself after graduation, she set out east to Colby College in Waterville, Maine where she earned her degree in Spanish and Environmental Studies. She devoted her time at Colby to the Residential Life program as a Community Advisor and Area Resident Director, volunteering at the local homeless shelter and teen center, and working as a Senior Fellow in the admission office. During her four years she spent a spring semester abroad in Córdoba, Spain and took weekends to explore Maine’s small towns, mountains, and extensive coastline. Although a fan of the snow, Erin made her way back west after graduation in May 2016 and spent the summer interning at a disaster relief organization in her hometown. Eager to jump back into higher education and admissions work this fall, she found Pitzer. In her free time Erin loves the ocean, hiking, all things food, and has a recent love for “Brooklyn Nine Nine”. She is excited to dive into work with current and prospective students at Pitzer this year.

Dwayne grew up in Simi Valley, California where he attended Santa Susana High School, and is happy to return home to Southern California. Dwayne earned his degree in art history from Reed College in Portland, Oregon. While a student at Reed, he spent a semester abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina and wrote his thesis on the relation between dictatorship and performance art in that country. In addition to working in the Admission Office at Reed, Dwayne was involved with the Multicultural Resource Center and student government. In his free time, Dwayne enjoys spending entire days at museums and using public transit to get around Los Angeles (don’t believe the rumors, LA has public transit!).

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